San Jose State University, Campus Village

San Jose , California

FIRM

CLIENT

San Jose State University

AREA

960,662 sq.ft.

TOTAL COST

$161,937,378.00

COMPLETION DATE

10/2005

Campus Village opened in the summer of 2005 for students of San Jose State University. The village consists of three residential buildings, a village market, recreation center and two stories of underground parking. Campus Village is on the southeast corner of the San Jose State University campus, and is a short walk to classes and downtown San Jose. The three ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONCOST PER SQ FT$168.57FEATURED IN2008 Architectural Portfolio house 2,083 student beds, 196 faculty and staff beds, and 3,500 square feet of retail space.

The water table in San Jose, California is high— only 6 feet under grade. The project’s tight site mandated underground parking. A 35-foot-deep hole was excavated over a full city block. Dewatering shafts were drilled every 20 feet around the entire city-block site, and the contractor ran pumps continually 24-7. At first, a mud slab was poured to create a flat, dry surface. Then, a waterproofing layer was added and, ultimately, an actual mat-slab. Concrete was poured continually for 3 days. Dewatering pumps were running continually and could only be turned off after the pouring of the project’s 3rd level. If the pumps had been turned off earlier, there was not enough weight in the structure to keep it from floating, given the extent of the surrounding water pressure.